PERMA.

In reading about this PERMA model, I found two things: One, it is the most "Well, no shit!" things you can read about finding happiness, and two, that it already is applied to most feature films in Hollywood. I am quite tired of filmmakers and producers writing about the secret to successful films. If there was such a thing, every film would be successful. Then unsuccessful. Then the films that go against the successful model would be successful. Then the cycle starts again. Art is always reactionary, and by applying absolutes, it reduces it to formula. How many people right now are being entertained? A lot more than are doing math equations for fun.

Yes, it is important for characters to have personal relationships in films. It is also important for those to build. It is through this that conflict is created. And it is sometimes good to have that conflict resolved. Sometimes. Doran says that audiences do not care about a character's success, as long as they find a deeper meaning in defeat. Ok, this is true. You can't really argue that, though I would be hard pressed to find what Michael Corleone learned at the end of The Godfather. I guess what I am saying is, "Ok, Lindsay, that is one way to go."

But are writers really thinking about these kinds of formulas and tricks when in their process? Bruce Springsteen has said, and I am certainly misquoting, that he wrote a lot of songs early in his career that were very story driven. But as time went on, the mechanics of storytelling were eventually ingrained in him so he did not have to really consider them. Then he could focus on what the song was really about. It is hard to be a painter if you only read about the most effective ways to draw. You have to just put paint to canvas over and over again. The brain has muscle memory, just like everything else. You write and write, and read and read, and write and write. You get guidance, you get tips, you learn from better writers. Then you can stop telling stories and finally let the story tell you. Tarantino starts every script with two people talking. He says that it is like transcription more than writing, and that he is just as curious about what they will say next.

I digress. How does PERMA relate to my film? Not really, which, if you deal in absolutes, means my film is a failure. IF I thought that, I would have a very depressing 3 years of school. My film centers around one character alone in a haunted environment. He does not connect deeply with another character, and in fact ends the film devoid of any human interaction. It is a tragic end, of course, because that is the tragedy of that character. He is a man separated from humanity and lost in a cinematic compulsion. He would rather see his world through a lens than through his own eyes. If he does come to some grand realization it is after the credits roll, and after my personal interest has left. My character is a cypher in which to experience the film through. If anything, the realization comes from the audience's self awareness.

Is the PERMA model useful for micro-budget filmmakers? I feel it is something most of them already know, since they are vague human insights. I would say any of these tools, Egri, PERMA, McKee, etc, are useful if you have never picked up a pen to write. They are introductory level, and useful in that regard.

I can't wait to stop talking about my story and start talking about my film.